Contributors

Monday, June 23, 2014

We just came across the amazing website - and books - and blog - of the folks who run Camp Wandawega in Wisconsin. This is a great site that epitomizes why rural lakeside life is so appealing in today's crazy world.

The business ranges from a resort to an on-line business and books. They will even rent out their place for photo shoots.

Here is the link to the actual "Camp" and I recommend taking a tour of each
of the buildings.

Picking the right cottage/ camp is a challenge. It’s like
finding the right person to share your life. You need someone who has all the
right things, and few if any “bad” things. And of those “bad things”, you need
to know you can live with them with eyes wide open.

For the last few years, we’ve been toying with
the idea of purchasing a cottage (“camp” I understand is the preferred term
providing there are pine trees and moose). We’ve been sailors for 40
years and we know salt water in all its renditions of cold fog, formidable seas
as well as the whispered hiss of a boat as it moves through the quiet sea with
barely a hint of a breeze to propel it. A glass of wine in the cockpit while
enjoying a glorious sunset after a perfect sail on a perfect day is something
that I will always treasure as one of the blessings of my life. But life is
only so long and if you have dreamed of trying something else, you have to make
it happen.

So begins our tale of finding a camp. My first experience
with a lake house was when I was in high school the summer after my father
died. I was the only child still at home and I suggested to my mother that we
rent a cottage up north for a week. She was game for the idea and I was allowed
to bring a rented canoe and a girlfriend. It was wonderful and an experience I
still well remember. The hushed sunrises, the clean feeling of the lake water
on your skin as you dry in the sun, the dull distinctive thud of a wooden
paddle when it bumps the side of an aluminum canoe as you paddle, the slam of a
wooden screen door as it bounces back to closed.

My husband had never experienced “camp” other than the Air
Force kind and he was not eager for the idea until last summer. My daughter had
surgery and we decided it was not a good idea to do an extended sailing trip,
so I found a little cabin on a small lake just for the weekend, and he loved
it! He loved the simplicity of life which is like sailing except without the
work of trimming sails, pulling anchors, and navigation as our little cabin never
moved in all the time we were there. The idea of a cabin as a new phase in our
life was launched, pun intended.

We know we are not looking for a large open lake, the kind
that is perfect for speed boats with tubing and water skiing as the focus for
recreation. Kayaks are our preferred boat these days, so an interesting lake with
multiple islands and coves to explore sounds about right. Our kids are older,
no grandchildren yet, but realizing that at some point there might be little
feet pattering around, a larger lake of at least 500 or more acres makes sense,
just in case tubing does happen to evolve. How we’d ever pull a tube with a
kayak, I don’t know but we’ll figure that out if the time comes.

We began, as most people would, with a Google search for lake
houses in New Hampshire and Maine, and a dizzying variety of real estate websites popped up, all being the promised gateway to nirvana we sought in the
woods. Thus began a new sport of geography trivia as we tried to pin point just
where these properties were. A quick run to the car produced an old dog eared
map followed by a thorough search of the house for the one and only magnifying
glass, which was last used to find a lost contact lens back when Regan was in
office.

We quickly realized the antiquity of our ways, and jumped to
working multiple open web sites on the computer using Google Earth to identify
lakes, state environmental sites for the size of the lakes, water quality, and the
issue of invasive weed control. Once we
figured out the property we wanted to investigate, we played the challenging
game of would you open the correct window on the first try for the information
you want, or would you go from one web site to the next always seeming to miss
the one you were actually looking for.

Word to the wise here: be wary of the
unexplainable desire to search Google Earth for your house. It will only lead
you into the time wasting but rather pleasantly entertaining game of “Where’s
Waldo” as you search the surrounding areas for inconsequential landmarks like
the convenience store or the neighbor’s house with the barking dog and illegal
kennel in the backyard. Add to the collection of open web sites a few lake
association and Facebook pages (check it out, as a number of lakes have them), and you’ve got a great game of jeopardy with lots of open web sites all
collecting at the top and bottom of your computer screen, just waiting for you
to guess which is which. Of course, if you have enough computers and the band
width for it, you can spice up the experience and open each web site on
different lap top to get a mission control experience. It will also impress
anyone else who happens to walk by with your computing savvy and obvious
importance.

Using those tools, we have been navigating the lakes, ponds
and puddles of New Hampshire and Maine and building an enviable local knowledge
without ever stepping out of the house. Of course you do need to take a few
field trips, which we have, because nothing compares to the feel of a place,
and Google Earth can show you all, but doesn’t tell you just how bad a pig farm
can smell.

We also needed to face the boringly commonplace reality of
how much can we really afford. It is
said life is a series of trade offs and how it applies to your search for
heaven among the pine needles is poetic. For us, we wanted to stay within three
hours of our home, which is in a metropolitan area. I’ve read it makes for
better resale value, and is also good for minimizing road rage. We quickly found
we couldn’t afford the picture perfect camp settled on a sandy beach with a
dock, a green border of pine trees and a charmingly sparse lawn with a few
clumps of green grass generously interrupted with scatterings of pine needles.
Too rich for our budget.

So we faced the
question; do we go for the weathered, sway- backed shack on the sandy strip of
lake shore land with exposed interior wall studs and linoleum older than your grandparents,
or should we jump for the cute as a button little house with 3 bedrooms, 2
baths, with a right of way to a so-so beach and “filtered” water view? “Filtered water view’ means you can see the
lake if the wind is blowing hurricane force and the trees are being bent in a
perfect parting, like Moses and the Red Sea. These questions are clearly
determined by your energy level, expertise and if your brother in law is a
decent carpenter who happens to be laid off.

Knowing that trade offs were in our future, we made a
list: seasonal or year round; view or not so much; loons or are just ducks ok;
dock access or beautiful sandy beach. By the way, if loons are a factor in your
search you can find that on the web too, usually at an Audubon site. Linger for
while when you're there as it will provide with you with renewed energy in your
quest.

So this is
where we stand at this moment, teetering at the brink of falling into
conditional love, with our list of acceptable trade-offs, and the undeniable
knowledge that our lists will mean nothing when we find our true love.

Web sites to
help in your search:

* www.googleearth.com
Use it to find your way around and identify lakes you might want to seek
property on.

* www.Mainelistings.com for Maine real
estate. You can enter the name of a body of water you want to look for property
on

* www.trulia.com for New Hampshire real estate.
You’ll need a local town name to search. There are other web sites but I found
this one to be the most comprehensive.

* www.des.nh.gov/ Go to “Lake Quality Water
Reports” and then “Summary Data.” You’ll find a listing of all the lakes with
depths, fish populations, water quality etc. There is a companion page which
explains the definitions.

* Web pages
for lake associations. It will give you a good feel for the general tone of the
community, and any specifics like no digging holes in the beach large enough
for small children to disappear into.

* Face Book.
Many lakes have Face Book pages. Inspiring pictures of sunsets, good
information and a fine way to find out just who in the group knows everyone
else’s business.

* Snow shoes
if you visit in the winter, and mud boots if you visit in the spring.

Stay tuned.

Thank you to Cabin World for letting me
set-a-spell and weave my tale.

Monday, January 6, 2014

A view of the whole mantle. (We hand-carved the trout under the mantle)

Today all the Christmas decorations came down. Among them a mantle diorama of a cabin scene.

Our first winter season after buying our little cabin we had a severe case of cabin fever. It is so remote that we can't get there in winter, so we created a little 'cabin scene' to envision what it would be like if we could go there.

For the trees, we use white pine cones, the tips of branches from spruce (our Christmas tree), and any other shrubs that are still green, like juniper. We lean them up against the white wall. Then we set stones here and there to create the look of huge rocks, and use a small 7" round mirror for a pond scene. We add 'moss' (that model railroaders use) for the bushes.

We place miniature animals here and there, including bears, some moose, fox, and rabbits...even a house cat. Later we added a kayak and a canoe, including tiny paddles.

The miniature cabin even has interior 'lights' you can turn on when children are visiting.We know it's corny, but it really did take the edge off that first winter, and we've enjoyed it every year since.

Sunday, December 29, 2013

One of our winter-time neighbors is starting to think about buying a cottage on a lake. As she talks about why it would make sense for her family, ideas fill my mind. What to tell her? What not to tell her?

In the end, I had three things to say.

1. Every lake place has plusses and minuses. You will know when you see 'the place' that's meant for you because it will rank just right on the most important features. It will 'speak to you'.

2. Keep an open mind as you look, because setting out to see places for sale may uncover other places that are good candidates. Take the side roads and explore. If there are people around, ask if there are other places for sale. Property owners may just be waiting for someone to ask. Leave a note in the door if you see your 'dream cottage' unoccupied and would like to make an offer. You never know!

3. Plumbing, plumbing, plumbing. Try, if you can, to have more than one bathroom if you plan on entertaining guests for any length of time. Add an outdoor shower too. They are heavenly.

Lastly, I should have said to her that she should try to get a feel for the culture of the lake community. Let's face it, there are party lakes, with lots of pontoon boats, and there are quiet off-the-grid lakes where silence and bird calls reign.

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

In the woods, bird calls are often the loudest sounds we hear. They are a musical feast, a constant conversation in the trees that continues all summer from earliest dawn long into the night.

Our cabin is surrounded by tall hemlocks, white and red pines, and spruce trees, with a few maples and birches mixed in. We have many bird visitors, but most of the time we never see them because they stay high up in the trees. We know they are there because we can hear them calling. Fortunately I enjoy picking out the bird calls, driving everyone around me crazy as I name the bird that is singing. My husband is now used to this after more than 30 years of marriage. Even when I'm in the suburbs walking with friends, I want to say the name of the bird call I'm hearing, even if I'm in mid-sentence. It's an obsession, I admit it. And most of the time, I manage to keep it to myself, unless it's a Wood Thrush. When I hear that bird calling, I have to stop and listen, and create enough silence around me to hear its beautiful timid song.

A couple of weeks ago a warbler was calling in 'front' of our place near the water. I didn't know its call (warbler calls are the biggest challenge for me). I wandered out to investigate, mug of coffee in hand, and strained my eyes high into the branches of a white pine festooned with light green bearded lichen. About 20 feet up, I could only make out the outline of a bird flitting about inside a long thick beard of lichen. It seemed to be taking a bath in it! That was the key to identifying that warbler, a northern parula. I didn't get a good luck at him at all. But Sibley's guide revealed the parula loves to nest in and near bearded lichens. And then I checked the call on-line (Cornell website) and 'bingo', confirmed it was a northern parula.

Northern Parula in some Bearded Lichen

Blackburnian Warbler with his distinctive orange throat

Another day this week my husband caught a rare low-altitude sighting of a Blackburnian Warbler with his apricot throat coloring. Doublechecking his calls, we confirmed who he was. We also spotted a Hairy Woodpecker and his mate pecking at a red pine that is on the decline. All summer I'd been missing the call of the Black-Throated Green Warbler, and this week his song started up. I wonder where he's been?

These days of early July we hear the songs of a Winter Wren, a Song Sparrow, Robins, Pine Warblers, and other Warblers I haven't figured out yet. The ravens and crows continue their long standing turf wars. Bluejays, nut hatches, and chickadees pass by with a few remarks. Then at dusk each night a mysterious bird flies through the forest with insistent chipping and then a kind of freeet call - and is gone. Then late at night when the weather is fine, the loons call on the lakes nearby.

Saturday, June 22, 2013

The summer solstice at the cabin is magical. The longest day is followed by a lovely evening with a waxing moon rising over the water, then hours of lingering astronomical twilight. Later the moon stands guard over the forest and lake until earliest dawn. Darkness never really falls; light and shadow wander through the woods. Accompanying this spectacle is the chorus of frogs in the early hours of the night, then the dawn chorus of birds. Nature's fanfare for the opening of summer.

Friday, May 3, 2013

We are up at the cabin and it is very dry. Northern New England is stuck in a high pressure weather system. Fire danger warnings are up; no one is making campfires.

One of our neighbors at the lake tells me she always rakes away from her cabin in spring to clear out the dead leaves and pine needles. She does it to lower fire danger.

We never rake at the cabin. We let the pine needles, birch and beech leaves pile up as they always have, decomposing and hopefully enriching the soil of the forest floor.

But to each his own. Once a year, my sister rakes the forest around her cabin in the Northwest. I laugh at this, but she swears that it allows the moss to thrive. I also recently learned that another neighbor here at the lake also rakes the forest in spring. Gets up all the pine needles, and pine cones...from the driveway and the mossy rocks.

To me, the forest has not had rakers for thousands and thousands of years. Does it need it? I suppose if one wants to cultivate moss it makes sense. And I suppose if one has a staff to do it, it would be a nice thing to have done. But when I'm at the cabin contemplating such things, a certain woodsy slothfulness takes hold.